A PlayOn Alternative? - streaming Hulu et al to 360

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I did the 10 day trial of PlayOn and it worked pretty well but now rather than a flat fee, it looks like they want to move to a subscription service. Since they don't offer content themselves and no meaningful 'service' other than pushing the video, I am not ok with this.

Does anyone know of another way to use the 360 to stream videos from Hulu and other places online? Boxee's software option doesn't really work because my PC can't connect to my receiver at the moment.

Wow. This is terrible news. PlayOn was worth the 40 dollar one time fee, but it's a buggy, frustrating program that certainly isn't worth a subscription basis, considering I have to regularly haul out the laptop and plug it into my television to get through Playon's crashes and frustrating lack of rewind / fast forward.

To answer your question -- the non premium service seems to include Hulu for the one time fee, although information regarding this isn't exactly forthcoming. but it looks like you'll need to subscribe prior to may 15th to qualify for a "basic" membership. Other than that, unless something is changed since November 2009 when I combed the hell out of the internet to make my xbox360 play hulu, that's your only option.

This is sloppy. I was already a hair's width away from justifying the cost to build an HTPC out of that Acer Revo net top. This certainly isn't encouraging for PlayOn.

This, will be recommended more than any other; didn't care for the set up myself. Glad I found Play On when I did; wonder if I'll have to pay a sub since I already paid them the $40. Not really a concern for me anymore since I built an HTPC.

Eventually I will probably go with the HTPC route, but I will need a receiver that supports HDMI (I bought it just before that was a word) first and that's another non-trivial purchase.

I had TVersity back before the xbox supported direct streaming. I dislike the idea of not having a demo for the Pro version, since I won't know how well it actually runs the stuff before dropping the bucks on it.

This, will be recommended more than any other; didn't care for the set up myself. Glad I found Play On when I did; wonder if I'll have to pay a sub since I already paid them the $40. Not really a concern for me anymore since I built an HTPC.

what happens now is I believe the first year subscription fee is 5 dollars if you subscribed with them previously than goes to next year is the full subscription but I don't really think it would be worth the subscription fee at the moment.

My understanding is that current license owners do not need to go the subscription route at all. They're pushing to get them there of course, with discounted first year rates and such, but I distinctly remember the email claiming that I did not actually have to do anything or pay anything more.

Edit: I can't find the original email, but I am positive that someone who has already paid the $40 does not have to pay anything more Tiger. At least not for the services we are already getting, minus a show or two that Comedy Central was moving over to the premium version.

It's a good thing too. I agree with the sentiment that PlayOn, while worth it as a one time charge, is not so much worth it as a subscription model. I would be seriously bummed if it went away though. On top of streaming Hulu, I also use it to stream my home movies and such to the 360, which has been notoriously picky about what format my movie files are in.

It's a good thing too. I agree with the sentiment that PlayOn, while worth it as a one time charge, is not so much worth it as a subscription model. I would be seriously bummed if it went away though. On top of streaming Hulu, I also use it to stream my home movies and such to the 360, which has been notoriously picky about what format my movie files are in.

only moderately on topic -- can you use PlayOn to fool the xbox360 into playing .mkv files?

only moderately on topic -- can you use PlayOn to fool the xbox360 into playing .mkv files?

With a bit of work you can set up a Win 7 PC to do it with the built in Media Center software. It also transcodes lots of other stuff, so if you have a Win 7 PC you don't really need PlayOn, etc for this. Just set up the Xbox as an extender.

I'd be curious as to how well the Atom based nettops work as HTPC. I just see them being kind of flaky with HD video. I know I've read that Media Center works on these, but the menus can get kind of slow.

Also, if you are using one, I'm sure you want the 10.1 flash beta that uses the Nvidia Ion GPU to accelerate Flash.

It's a good thing too. I agree with the sentiment that PlayOn, while worth it as a one time charge, is not so much worth it as a subscription model. I would be seriously bummed if it went away though. On top of streaming Hulu, I also use it to stream my home movies and such to the 360, which has been notoriously picky about what format my movie files are in.

only moderately on topic -- can you use PlayOn to fool the xbox360 into playing .mkv files?

Not sure what an .mkv file is to be honest. I haven't found a movie format that I haven't been able to get to the 360 through PlayOn yet though, so unless .mkv is really esoteric I'd imagine it would work.

Not sure what an .mkv file is to be honest. I haven't found a movie format that I haven't been able to get to the 360 through PlayOn yet though, so unless .mkv is really esoteric I'd imagine it would work.

It's a multimedia file container (similar to .avi). It can contain things like h.264 video files along with AC3 audio, etc.

Haven't tried it under Windows 7 yet, but using the 360 as a media extender under Vista was horrible; it took forever to load anything off my laptop.

It's so much better in 7. Now I can just hit play instead of More->More->Transcode 360, it starts instantly instead of waiting 30 seconds, and I get full FF and rewind instead of only being able to jump ahead 30 seconds at a time. Also, the major codecs (XVid/DivX) are included, so no more having to install codec packs off the net.

Quintin_Stone: Nice looking c*ck you got there, dimmerswitch.
BadKen: So what you're saying is that cops can look at my dick pics without a warrant.
*Legion*: my right hand spent most of those early-teen years in that grip position

I have a dedicated HTPC and use it most of the time, but have an extra 360 that I'm going to put in the bedroom whenever I get time to pull some cable.

Speaking of which, anyone have any decent resources for setting up your own wired home network? Right now, I've got my 360 talking to the network via the wireless adapter, but that can be flaky sometimes, and I wouldn't mind having it wired directly into the wall. Problem is, my house isn't wired for Cat5 (or whatever is needed).

Where's a good place to start looking? Might need to drop some cable connections in a few rooms, too.

Quintin_Stone: Nice looking c*ck you got there, dimmerswitch.
BadKen: So what you're saying is that cops can look at my dick pics without a warrant.
*Legion*: my right hand spent most of those early-teen years in that grip position

I have a dedicated HTPC and use it most of the time, but have an extra 360 that I'm going to put in the bedroom whenever I get time to pull some cable.

Speaking of which, anyone have any decent resources for setting up your own wired home network? Right now, I've got my 360 talking to the network via the wireless adapter, but that can be flaky sometimes, and I wouldn't mind having it wired directly into the wall. Problem is, my house isn't wired for Cat5 (or whatever is needed).

Where's a good place to start looking? Might need to drop some cable connections in a few rooms, too.

What are you looking for, resources on how to run the cable (Cat5e will work), or on what to attach to the ends once the cable is run?

I have a dedicated HTPC and use it most of the time, but have an extra 360 that I'm going to put in the bedroom whenever I get time to pull some cable.

Speaking of which, anyone have any decent resources for setting up your own wired home network? Right now, I've got my 360 talking to the network via the wireless adapter, but that can be flaky sometimes, and I wouldn't mind having it wired directly into the wall. Problem is, my house isn't wired for Cat5 (or whatever is needed).

Where's a good place to start looking? Might need to drop some cable connections in a few rooms, too.

What are you looking for, resources on how to run the cable (Cat5e will work), or on what to attach to the ends once the cable is run?

Both, really. Basically, how to go from guy with drill to guy with holes in his wall and angry wife.

Quintin_Stone: Nice looking c*ck you got there, dimmerswitch.
BadKen: So what you're saying is that cops can look at my dick pics without a warrant.
*Legion*: my right hand spent most of those early-teen years in that grip position

I wired up my entire house before I moved in, a jack in every room - or at least easy access to drop a jack into every room. Assuming you have access to both an unfinished basement (or crawl space) and an attic, I would suggest something like the following:

Get yourself a box of Cat5e, 1,000 feet in a box isn't too expensive. Some might say get Cat6 to future-proof yourself, but that's likely overkill. You'll also need a drill with a variety of bits, including a very long, very narrow one. A cable pull is also a nice thing to have, but not technically required. Finally a box or three of terminals and a crimper. Instructions on crimping are here. You can pick all of these materials up at Home Depot fairly cheaply.

Next, find a route where you can run a cable between the attic and basement. A laundry chute is nice, or a spot where you've got closets on both the first and second floors so you can hide the cable in those. Run the cable and attach a plain old D-Link 5 port switch at both ends of that cable. This is your trunk, giving you a backbone that carries your network to all floors of the house. In my case my basement trunk happens to terminate in my home office, right next to the router and DSL modem. My attic trunk actually terminates in a switch mounted in an upstairs closet (technically right below the attic). From the upstairs switch I can feed a cable (through the attic) to any room on the second floor. From the basement I can get a cable up into any room on the first floor. I actually went the next step and physically ran those cables into all but one or two rooms, but you don't need to actually do so in any rooms you don't need connectivity to at the moment.

For the actual jacks themselves, you just run the cable up (or down) into the wall cavity between the studs. This is where your fish tape and your long narrow drill bit come into play. Say you want to run a drop up into your family room on the first floor. Pick the spot on the wall where you want it, put your long narrow drill bit on the floor riiiight up against that wall (pull the carpet back) and drill down into the basement. Don't worry, it'll be a small and unnoticeable hole when you're done. Go to the basement, find the drill bit sticking out of the ceiling. Move back about 1.5 inches from there and drill up. That'll put you right into the middle of the wall cavity. Feed your cable up into the cavity. Now go back up into your family room and knock an outlet sized hole in the wall right where you want your jack - typically a hammer handle's height up from the floor. Fish around until you find your cable, pull it out of the hole, feed it through the bottom of an old work box , put the old work box into the hole and secure it. Then attach the cable to the back of a network wall plate (I like the Leviton ones, also available at Home Depot in a variety of sizes/colors/types), wire up the jack itself, and voila - network jack in the wall.

Repeat the step above anywhere you want network connectivity. If you need more outlets you can daisy chain your D-Link switches.

Thanks for the advice. I'll read through it in a minute. Any problems if I don't have a basement? Apparently this part of Texas doesn't have them due to limestone or some other such excuse.

Quintin_Stone: Nice looking c*ck you got there, dimmerswitch.
BadKen: So what you're saying is that cops can look at my dick pics without a warrant.
*Legion*: my right hand spent most of those early-teen years in that grip position

Thanks for the advice. I'll read through it in a minute. Any problems if I don't have a basement? Apparently this part of Texas doesn't have them due to limestone or some other such excuse.

Ah hell Texas, yeah I tried to dig an in ground sprinkler system in Texas once. Not a lot of fun.

Ranch or two story? If it's a ranch, no problems at all, you just come down from the attic. If it's a two story with no basement it makes things a touch trickier since you have no immediate access into the first floor rooms. In that case you'd need to go from the attic through the second story room into the first story room for every run, which would be a pain in the butt. It basically eliminates the benefit of the trunk system, the entire purpose of which is to limit you to a single two story run.

Thanks for the advice. I'll read through it in a minute. Any problems if I don't have a basement? Apparently this part of Texas doesn't have them due to limestone or some other such excuse.

Ah hell Texas, yeah I tried to dig an in ground sprinkler system in Texas once. Not a lot of fun.

Ranch or two story? If it's a ranch, no problems at all, you just come down from the attic. If it's a two story with no basement it makes things a touch trickier since you have no immediate access into the first floor rooms. In that case you'd need to go from the attic through the second story room into the first story room for every run, which would be a pain in the butt. It basically eliminates the benefit of the trunk system, the entire purpose of which is to limit you to a single two story run.

Ranch. Now that I think about it, my neighbor owns a business doing this sh*t. I'll see if she wants to barter a website redesign or something else for wiring my house.

Quintin_Stone: Nice looking c*ck you got there, dimmerswitch.
BadKen: So what you're saying is that cops can look at my dick pics without a warrant.
*Legion*: my right hand spent most of those early-teen years in that grip position

Maybe you want a media center extender in a bedroom. 360 Arcades are cheap these days

I have a dedicated HTPC and use it most of the time, but have an extra 360 that I'm going to put in the bedroom whenever I get time to pull some cable.

Not going to happen anytime soon; I refuse to allow a TV into my bedroom. I enjoy sleep too much for that, and TV is the one thing that interrupts me from that pursuit. I haven't had a TV in my bedroom since I was young and shared a room with my brother.

As for home networking I just throw a 50 ft network cable down the stairs and hook up both ends; it's good to be single and in an apartment.

It basically eliminates the benefit of the trunk system, the entire purpose of which is to limit you to a single two story run.

My plan is to actually pull two CAT5e/CAT6 cables and two RG6s to each room upstairs. Since I already need the coax as well, might as well not rely on a switch upstairs and just pull the cable. Plus, once I've bought the cable, might as well use it.

Otherwise I'd have to find somewhere to put the switch that's not in the heat of the attic but is still central to upstairs.

It basically eliminates the benefit of the trunk system, the entire purpose of which is to limit you to a single two story run.

My plan is to actually pull two CAT5e/CAT6 cables and two RG6s to each room upstairs. Since I already need the coax as well, might as well not rely on a switch upstairs and just pull the cable. Plus, once I've bought the cable, might as well use it.

Otherwise I'd have to find somewhere to put the switch that's not in the heat of the attic but is still central to upstairs.

That's exactly what I did in fact. One Cat5e for network, another for phone (I rewired the whole house from the old POTS) plus a pair of RG6s for satellite. I wish now I'd run some additional fiber in case FIOS ever shows it's face around here, as I've subsequently finished the basement ceiling and running anything in the future will be... less pleasant.

As for the attic heat issue, just wall mount the switch on a random closet wall a foot or two below the ceiling. Doesn't look too terrific with a half dozen Cat5's snaking up from there into the attic through a hole in the corner, but if you pick an unused closet it's not too noticeable.

Edit: In fact, even better than running more fiber would have been to run conduit, which I've counseled a buddy or two to do since. It's more expensive, but it's the ultimate in future proofing an area you don't expect to have easy access to down the road.

Edit: In fact, even better than running more fiber would have been to run conduit, which I've counseled a buddy or two to do since. It's more expensive, but it's the ultimate in future proofing an area you don't expect to have easy access to down the road.

I don't plan to own this house long enough for fiber to matter here. I've thought about actually going the siamese cable route. Something like this. They make siamese stuff with fiber in the bundle, too.